Canada Post says its new policy curtailing rural mail delivery is a temporary measure based on safety concerns for its drivers. But that hasn't quelled the anger of customers who must now drive to town themselves to pick up their letters and parcels.

Canada Post is cancelling its century-old tradition of delivering mail to rural boxes at the end of country driveways in many parts of Canada, including routes in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

Rural mail service has been cut back in some areas because of employee safety concerns, Canada Post says
(CBC)

Spokeswoman Avril Vollenhoven said the Crown corporation had no choice.

More than 200 drivers have claimed their routes are unsafe in the past six months alone, she said. They are complaining about poor road conditions and the risk of repetitive stress injuries as they reach out from their vehicles to put mail in the boxes.

Having to drive costs time and money

The drivers' concerns, however, are not sitting well with rural residents who have come to rely on regular mail delivery.

Linda Cogswell, a resident of Rusagonis, N.B., is furious about the change. She must now drive 20 kilometres to the postal station in Fredericton in order to pick up her mail.

Cogswell said that means a waste of time and money.

"I can't afford to drive back and forth," she said, adding that she might be reduced to picking up her mail only once a week.

"If you're expecting important letters or cheques, it would be an inconvenience."

Seniors, disabled inconvenienced

The loss of individual delivery is especially tough on seniors and disabled people, residents note.

Cogswell said Canada Post should have consulted with people before cancelling the service, suggesting that installing oversized mail boxes throughout rural areas would have been acceptable to many.

Vollenhoven said managers of the Crown corporation have a responsibility to address safety concerns raised by the union representing drivers, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers.

"If Canada Post and CUPW agree that, yes, that mailbox is unsafe, then delivery to that mail box is immediately halted. Canada Post is legally responsible to do that."

Small changes to boxes could solve problem

Vollenhoven said only customers with mail boxes that have been deemed unsafe are affected.

In many cases, she said, regular mail delivery will be resumed if an investigation determines that customers can adjust the boxes to make them acceptable.

That might take a while, however, because Canada Post has hired the National Research Council to investigate traffic safety on rural routes and come up with a new definition of a safe mailbox. She said the corporation can't recommend any improvements itself until that happens.

Meanwhile, Fredericton Liberal MP Andy Scott is advising his constituents to put together a petition, which he will present in Parliament.

He told the Canadian Press that he agrees there should have been an earlier consultation process, such as public meetings hosted by Canada Post, before a decision was made to stop some rural mail delivery.